The present invention pertains in part to the building of sea walls and/or levees on soft subsoil, such as found in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The need for sturdy sea walls and/or levees to protect oil and gas infrastructure, as well as cities, is overwhelming, and becomes more dire with the passage of time. The need is expressed regularly since hurricane Katrina occurred in August, 2005.
One of the most difficult aspects of building sea walls and/or levees near the Gulf Coast is that the local subsoil that is readily available is soft and/or sandy, and therefore not desirable for use. The prior art has simply not found a way to use such subsoil as the primary component of structurally sound, long lasting sea walls or levees. Prior art sea walls typically depend on fairly solid and dense soil or rock in which to place anchors on the inland side of the sea wall (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,674,921; 4,480,945 and 6,908,258). Prior art levees typically depend on importing solid, dense soil.
The present invention overcomes the above problem and for the first time provides a robust, long lasting sea wall and/or levee using the abundant, readily available, soft, sandy subsoil typically found near the Gulf Coast as the primary building material!!
A further advantage of the invention is that soft, sandy subsoil from water bodies adjacent the sea wall or levee may be dredged to deepen the water body for navigation, and simply placed on top of the sea wall or levee. Such soft, sandy materials heretofore have been hauled great distances from where they are dredged for disposal.
The present invention provides a method of building new, reinforced sea walls and/or levees to protect cities as well as oil and gas infrastructure such as refineries, pipelines and related facilities from storm surges.
The present invention is based in part on the proven technology known as GEO-JET® and as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,793,740; 4,958,962; 5,396,964; 5,890,844; 6,183,166; 6,241,426 and 6,988,856, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a robust and long lasting sea wall and/or levee design that utilizes the soft, sandy subsoil such as typically found near the Gulf of Mexico as its primary building material.
A further advantage of the invention is that soft, sandy subsoil from water bodies adjacent the sea wall or levee may be dredged to deepen the water body from navigation and placed on top of the sea wall or levee.
A further object of the invention is to provide a sea wall and/or levee design for use in Gulf Coast areas wherein the existing soft, sandy materials do not have to be removed and hauled great distances for disposal.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel sea wall and/or levee for providing efficient protection for oil and gas infrastructures such as refineries, pipelines and related facilities from storm surges.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and drawings wherein: